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PASCH: Education creates prospects – multilingualism opens horizons

A global network of schools is being built through the PASCH partner school initiative. Pupils at these schools are not just given the opportunity to learn German and enjoy German education. This cultural relations initiative is designed to arouse a lasting interest in modern‑day Germany and the German language in young people – especially in the priority regions of Asia, the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe.

The Federal Foreign Office is responsible for coordinating PASCH, which is being implemented in cooperation with the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA), the Goethe‑Institut (GI), the Educational Exchange Service of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (PAD) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Between 2008 and 2013, the German Bundestag made a total of 298 million euros available for the implementation of the initiative. Around 47 million euros has been provided for 2014.

PASCH six years on – a positive assessment

The results of the partner school initiative are good. Some 1750 schools have already joined the network. These include 142 German Schools abroad, 1050 German Language Certificate (DSD) schools sponsored by the Central Agency for Schools Abroad and 560 FIT schools sponsored by the Goethe‑Institut (schools at which the teaching of German is being introduced or extended).

The success of the PASCH initiative highlights the increased interest in Germany and the great demand for German. Learning from and about one another and the exchange about common interests strengthens both the PASCH initiative and the learning community. The positive way in which the initiative has been received also makes plain that PASCH is providing the schools with a high‑quality programme. This means that, even apart from language classes, school development is improved and the sphere of education strengthened, above all in the priority and growth regions as well as in countries benefiting from development cooperation (ODA countries).

Whereas the priority between 2008 and 2010 was to build up the network of partner schools, the focus since then has been on improving the quality of teaching, networking the PASCH schools with each other and with schools in Germany, and strengthening the link between school and higher education or the world of work.

What 2014 holds in store for PASCH

In 2014 it will again be a matter of consolidating the network, making it sustainable and ensuring the German language is promoted. The networking between schools is to be further strengthened and lessons are to be continuously improved. The initiative’s partners have developed a series of measures to breathe life into the network, to improve it and to shape it for the future.

The Internet platform of the initiative external link, opens in new window(www.pasch‑net.de) is a particularly important instrument to promote networking and communication for pupils and teachers.Alongside many interactive elements to improve knowledge of the German language, there are also games and international competitions for pupils.The online student magazine external link, opens in new windowPASCH‑Global, which gives young people from all over the world the chance to showcase their cultures and communicate with each other in German, has been a particular success.Teachers can practise highly modern digital lessons on the learning platform, find out more about methodology and didactics and read tips on how to improve their German lessons and make them more innovative.To mark the initiative’s fifth anniversary, an external link, opens in new windowinteractive world map was put on PASCH‑net with videos, pictures, texts and reports on activities under the scheme.

German companies are also to be involved more in PASCH as they themselves ultimately benefit from the initiative. Only if they commit themselves to the initiative can it reach its full potential. There are many different ways in which companies can support their future partners: through scholarships or placements, equipment aid for schools or by supporting individual projects. The sky is the limit!